#i just have a hunch theyd get along

[anxiouslowercase]

sas rh: let eoin survive the fall au » meeting the lrdg

[oneaneonly]

it actually.. never occurred to me if they end their life then me, and by extension rest of us, never get to say goodbyes either. i never left a note. or anything like that. i dont have anyone to leave it to. nothing in life really matters to me. i feel like, if i had to write Anything to anyone itd be j***. for keeping them… alive? being kind to them even when i and no one else was

i had a rough start. i dont know why i was the way i was. we theorize i learned how to treat them from how the world treated them, but i dont know. when i first got here i was fuck lack of better word a dick. i hated them. i think? i dont know but i was angry. i used to physically beat them up and theyd run away to j*** so scared because of me and that was the only one who could protect them. they didnt make the connection about systems but just knew someone inside of them was beating them up. it was scary because where do you hide? j*** didnt like me for a long time, understandably, because of how i was treating someone they loved. and i was scared of what theyd do to me

i think i discovered guilt (?) but i have spent so long, years now, trying to be different. i dont want to hurt them. and after 2022 i realised how painful it is living in their life. i dont want to say i pity them because they wont like it but its… rough. its insane to live like this. since then ive tried to make their life easier, stand up if applicable, because no one else has and ever will. it sure seems so.

j*** i have an unmoving appreciation for. thats the only person i can trust to handle them with tact and the caution they desire. they are unwavering with their love and, for the first time in their life, they genuinely trust j***. as close as they can get to it i guess.

all that to say… i know i was bad. i know im not really good. i dont have all these emotions like care and empathy and whatever else, i just dont care about most things, im angry sometimes and indifferent always. maybe sometimes im fascinated and elated. theres a lot in this world to see. i think part of me wishes i knew more. but i dont care enough

thank you to those who tried and a big fuck you to those who didnt. im not the gentle one they are and i dont care. fuck you to everyone who put them here. theyll say its their fault but id have half the mind to list every one of you shit stains off by NAME if i didnt worry about their best interests and how itd affect them safety wise. but fuck you. this should be you. you should be the one hunched over in pain. you should be the ones not eating meals because YOU dont deserve it. YOU should be the one cutting yourself with a tape blade for repentance. YOU should be the one planning running away everyday of your life. you should be planning suicides. you should be battling two personality disorders. i dont want to write a kind note because now i realise i have nothing nice to say. fuck you all. fuck all of you. i hope its you instead. that, in death, would make me feel good as fuck

they love their parents, j***, the two people they talk to. anyone else? who am i to say it wasnt about you. see you in hell

an and puri and i dont get along well but i am willing to write notes for them here too, if they wish

[clockworkcheetah]

Ship asks but I’m basic so… Brotzly.

im basic too so dw 💖

Who would be the big spoon? usually its todd- i think once in a blue moon they switch but its not often

Who would wake up first? once again its usually todd (the jobs he use to work are ingrained in him) but sometimes its dirk if he gets a hunch or whatnot

Do they have nicknames for each other? i think dirk would call todd all the pretty common petnames (darling, dear, love ect) tbh i cant really picture todd using petnames? doesnt seem like his style aside from saying 'dude' lmao

What happened when they met each other’s parents? uhh i mean i hc that dirks parents are dead (i actually hc he was raised by a single mum just felt right). i have various different hcs about todd parents but i have writte them in one fic so going off that i think itll be kinda awkward but i think theyd get along pretty well

How do they apologize after an argument? dirk more often apologises with words whilst todd apologises more through actions (its been a while sinced i rewatched tho but i feel like that was canon idk)

What would they be like as parents? its funny cause whilst i hc todd as wanting/liking kids i hc dirk as the opposite. but if they did i think theyd both be pretty fun parents (tho todd would be the more like responsible one :'D)

Who is more romantic? theyre romantic in their own ways. i think todds more 'traditional' romantic tho (mixtapes, gift giving)

brotzly mixtape would be a cute fic idea

What sort of gifts do they get for each other? i think todds more of a gift giver than dirk i think they usually give each other things like clothing- new jackets or gaudy shirts

Who gets jealous easiest? pfft i think they both p bad. idk if its an unpopular opinion but i think todds worse tho

Who gets more excited for events e.g.. Birthdays, Christmas? todd tbh. i dont think dirk ever really celebrated anything even after blackwing- i think takes a while to unlearn that mentality

plus todds like really easily excited imo?

Who is the most adventurous? both but todd moreso imo (unhinged lil man! especially in s2)

Who is the most protective? todd would fight everyone in blackwing lets not kid ourselves

What would they have been like as childhood sweethearts? i cant rly picture it? they probably werent too much different to how they are now tho

-

*BONUS: Song to sum them up?* last of the real ones - fallout boy (look that song is perfect for them)

also when you were young - the killers

-

Do I ship it? its been my main otp for like two years

thanks for the ask! 💙💛

send a ship

[cometcrystal]

super kids pair dynamics

note that when i say “pair” i dont mean Ship Pairing its just every possible duo in this group, minus jack jack, because everyone other than vi and dash’s dynamic w him is “you are baby”

just so this has some semblance of organization, it’s gonna go in alphabetical order. so chance > dash > gigi > rose > tony > victor > violet. i’d do minny but i think i’ll leave that to ramon and em to decide since she’s their character and they’d know her better than i do!

chance & dash - obvious but theyre Boyfriends once theyre older. at present in canon they just have baby crushes on each other but neither has realized it yet. they share a brain cell, and i mean that in both the Dumbass way and in the “their minds are so in sync its crazy” way. they name their children by mashing their own names together. that’s their wavelength

chance & gigi - they get along pretty well i think. gigi uses some of his morphs as inspiration for new gadgets, like lizard-esque wall climbing gloves & shoes. he likes to sit and watch her work sometimes 

chance & rose - barely know each other. their super suits are both green i guess

chance & tony - while chance is chaos enough for dash, he’s also got a more reserved side, and it comes out when he talks with his in-law-in-law tony. they are both dating a parr and that says enough. they probably watch the same tv shows

chance & victor - doesn’t really like the guy. he eventually slightly warms up to him but he’s the one victor targeted in the first place, so he’s always gonna be on the defense around him. for a while, anyway. victor proves himself eventually and the two are never exactly close, but chance knows victor’s upbringing was Bad

chance & violet - they have kind of a sarcastic relationship. he is able to safely snark to her without getting called a wiseass. when he’s in-morph she’ll tease him by being like “prove you’re chance do a trick”. best siblings-in-law ever

dash & gigi - they get on each other’s nerves just a little bit but not too bad. he’s always willing to be the guinea pig for when she needs to test smth and she both respects and fears his gusto. she teaches him some judo moves upon request

dash & rose - they don’t know each other very well either. i dont think rose and the younger kids are very close at all

dash & tony - dash instantly thinks tony is the coolest person in the world the moment tony calls him “buddy” and he will butt in during his sister’s dates to be like “hey tony hows your day been”. tony thinks dash is a funny kid and humors him but also tries to end the convo quickly so he and vi wont try and kill each other. once dash finds out tony’s an empath hes constantly like “hey what number am i thinking of”

dash & victor - is one of the first people, along with gigi, to be on the side of “let’s give victor a chance”, surprisingly. he hasn’t forgotten what he pulled on chance but he’s also like “his dad was killed by syndrome. that can’t be easy” and kinda sorta feels a connection to how victor lashed out. victor doesn’t take dash seriously at first but seeing dash in battle one (1) time turned him around bc dangit the kid’s clever

dash & violet - chaos siblings supreme. ive already talked at length before about how much these two love each other and how they’d die for each other in an instant so i won’t get too deep into it, but they know each other better than anyone else does. they share the same trauma and they work together in hero work near-seamlessly, despite how much they bicker in their everyday life

gigi & rose - softd for each other. rose needs someone who’s super understanding (lol) about the super thing, since she’s so skittish and defensive about it, and gigi’s had a toe in the super world her whole life bc of lucius. they have nice quiet convos while doing diff stuff in the same room and also theyre girlfriends. the only time the phrase “soft uwu wlw” is allowed

gigi & tony - “the only people violet parr is soft for” squad unite. they have a two-person book club where they #stan jane eyre and they also share turtlenecks bc theyre the same size. they try and pair up as partners in science class whenever possible

gigi & victor - supported victor’s second chance early on, partly because she had almost no hand in what he did other than being kidnapped. she’s sympathetic to him mostly on a hunch. she might invite him to her and tony’s book club later and introduce him to gothic literature. he thinks she’s suspiciously nice to him and is slightly defensive around her at first

gigi & violet - the definition of wlw solidarity. ride or fucking die. see the adventures of violet and dash book 2 for the love jewelry they made for each other. when vi’s not fighting crime with her usual partner dash, she almost always teams up w gigi

rose & tony - they have drama class together and have a light-hearted friendship. one day during an improv exercise in class one of them messed a sentence up and started laughing and the other joined and the teacher had to intervene bc they couldnt stop giggling. when she gets anxious and tony senses it he puts a hand on her shoulder and she appreciates it

rose & victor - these two have an unlikely bond because of their weird and stressful family situations. in general, she opens up a little bit before he does, and sorta relates to his closed-off-ness. so it’s either her or gigi that usually offers him an extra cookie or w/e at first

rose & violet - had a crush on her when they first met bc shes a fuckin lesbian. violet was immediately rose’s wingwoman when she met gigi tho. they probably have philosophical debates when they hang out, which is usually taking a walk through the park or going to the zoo

tony & victor - tony’s actually ends up being victor’s closest friend. since he’s an empath he can tell that victor’s being sincere when he eventually says he’s sorry to the others, and besides rose, tony’s the one that’s the furthest removed from what happens in the books. so he’s kind to victor, and victor’s not as defensive around him cause he figures his kid’s a wimp and couldn’t lie about trying to get me arrested if he tried. but yeah this is probably the person victor gets along best with

tony & violet - this is another dynamic i’ve talked about at length before but the TLDR is that he’s constantly amazed by her even before he finds out she’s a super, and him being the most “normal” one out of all the kids is comforting to violet. i hesitate to be like “she likes feeling normal” but she does like feeling grounded and loved by someone she can just relax and take a break from Super Stuff with. they’re each other’s superheroes

violet & victor - she’s the most Sus of him when he comes back, and he’s not exactly keen on her either. she only agrees to give him a second chance because of what tony says in his favor. but after working with each other for a long time, they both respect and trust each other. like when theyre adults, if you asked either of them about the other, theyd be like “i’d defend them in battle, and i know they’d do the same for me”

[breziarchive]

Could I request eileen and henry celebrating valentines day?

vilkommen! thanks for the patience, this one’s a bit short but sweet and maybe maybe not inspired by the instrumental postrock hole i’ve fallen into

valentine’s day boogaloo - guidelines - ko-fi

((requests closed, just working through what i have. ko-fis are still super appreciated, thank you!))

~~

It wasn’t their first February 14th after everything happened, but it was their first Valentine’s Day. It came fast and awkward, since the idea of dating was still alien and new even if they had hardly been separated since then. The word was strange on their lips, too saccharine and beloved when they were used to salt and stinging on their chewed and chapped skin. Rhetorical questions like ‘would you die for each other’ they could answer in a heartbeat.

But ‘how long have you been dating’?

And ‘what kind of a partner are they’?

With the worst, ‘you two make a sweet couple’?

They’d stop. Henry would stutter. Eileen would fall to a cottony silence and stare. Those were strange questions. Questions that did not ask or bid the necessities of what it took to survive. They loved each other, sure. But to be dating out of nothing but pure love, and not survival?

Ridiculous.

But they tried to fit the image of a doting couple. Date nights, cheesy gifts, pet names and plus-ones for family events. Arm-in-arm, trying to smile as one, function as a pleasant domestic unit and not some symbiotic creature shambling along the edges of where one world met the other. Maybe if they just acted like it worked one day they would wake up and it would be working and their square peg would be round for the hole they were meant to fit in.

That morning never came. But still Eileen found Henry hunched over the coffee table with a journal page that was about to drown in ink if he kept writing and scratching words out and rewriting and scribbling. She slid next to him, not before announcing her presence, and held out a mug of scorching hot tea. He took it and held it between his calloused hands. Henry had told her once, that his hands were soft and honestly pathetic—hands used to artistry. If anything, photography chemicals made them dry on occasion, but never rough. Not like they were now, forever. As such he preferred to hold blistering hot mugs, partially to feel something through his hands again, partially in grievance of what he had lost.

“Valentine’s ideas?” Eileen surmised from the scribblings. He nodded. They were all generic and expected, some even going so far to make a romcom blush. Eileen smiled, amused and touched just by the gesture alone. None of the ideas appealed to her anymore, and they certainly didn’t appeal to Henry either, but nevertheless they were there and they were possibilities. That in itself was special enough to have. She raised her own mug of tea to her lips and sipped.

“What do you think?” he asked quietly. Eileen swallowed in place of humming.

“Going out…,” she mused, “Feels a little exposed.”

Henry nodded, then counteracted, “Staying in feels…,”

She moved her knee to touch his, full well knowing how he felt about walls around him.

Stuck was a forbidden word between them, and it had been for a while. Of course this limbo was the best sort of stuck they could possibly be in, but the details of the situation didn’t matter anymore—stuck was stuck. Eileen took another, longer sip of her tea, relishing in the calmness of the lavender before holding the warm mug close to her heart.

“Oh, I stopped by the tea shop today,” she told him, “Since we were running low,”

Henry hummed, turning the journal page over and ever so slightly wincing at how the ink had bled through.

“Mara was there. Told me they were having a guitarist and a pianist performing together tonight. Singles and couples welcome.”

Henry blinked and looked up at her. She smiled, a little forced, a little sheepish.

“They’ll make the tea as hot as you want,”

“She’ll scold me,” Henry said quietly. Eileen smiled wider.

“She will.”

He glanced at the inked up page and closed the journal.

“Alright.”

Eileen’s heart raced for no good reason but for once it was almost out of excitement, “You sure?”

“Yeah. It’s going out,”

“And Mara knows us,” Eileen murmured, “And it’s casual.”

He nodded. Less exposed. Less watched.

“Good,” Eileen said, heart fluttering in such a way that told her she was getting used to the idea of dating and loving Henry for the sake of loving him rather than survival, “Good…,”

Eileen huddled up to Henry’s shoulder much the same as she would that following evening, holding her mug between them as Henry kept his in his hands, quiet and contemplative.

[words-that-made-me-fall]

Here, Together

Multi-chapter (2/6), tagged as #collapse

Summary: “Can anyone hear me? Kim! Sarge!” He finally got a bit of a better look. There were flames on the side of the house - or what had been the house - near the street helping illuminate the scene. The whole house, except one corner wall, was collapsed: the roof had fallen, everything was reduced to pieces of wood and concrete. “Where are they,” he asked. There was pain in Hailey’s eyes, “They’re still in there. We haven’t been able to reach them.”

Chapter 2

Her ears were ringing. Slowly, sensation came back. Everything was dark. She blinked her eyes rapidly, and the dust was scratching at her throat painfully. Coughing dryly, she tried to lift her hands to wipe her face, but she could only get one arm up. Swiping at her eyes, she looked down at her left hand. It was covered by a slab of concrete. She could move her fingers. But just above her elbow to her wrist was trapped. She took a deep breath and looked around. Everything was dark, but she could make out a sliver of light above her. It didn’t illuminate anything, but it was there. She turned her head to the side.

“Help. Help,” Her voice didn’t carry, her throat was too dry. She felt along her vest for her radio. Relief hit her when she felt it still on her vest, but it wasn’t working. No wonder, there was a crack in the middle of it.

Frustrated, she huffed a breath and looked around more. She had to get out of here.

She could see a beam of light down and to her right. That could be a way out. Straining, she tried to move toward it, but her trapped arm kept her in place.

She coughed some more as she paused to regroup. She had to move. She could wiggle her toes, and she could move her legs. That was good. It was just her arm. Taking her right hand, she felt along the concrete trapping her arm. It wasn’t too big.

Taking a deep breath, she put her hand under the piece, and pulled it up and away to try to yank her arm free.

Her arm came free, scraping hard and stinging. She pulled it close to her and curled on her side, coughing, waiting for the pain to abate.

When she caught her breath, she moved to the beam of light. She could see now that it was her flashlight. She reached into the space it was in and grabbed it, and shined it around her, taking a look around.

She was lucky. There was enough space for her to sit up. Even though she was surrounded by steel and concrete.

She took a moment to breathe and listen and remember what had happened.

They had been in the basement. Antonio and Kevin had heard something, they’d tried to turn back, but there had been an explosion. Dread flooded her at the thought. She had to find them.

“Kevin! Antonio!” Her voice wasn’t that much better, but it carried a bit better, “Can anyone hear me?”

She waited a beat, but there was no reply. There was no way she could just sit and wait. They could be seriously hurt.

Kim shined the light around her again. There was a small space near where her flashlight had been. Enough space for her to crawl through. She got down onto her stomach and shined the light through. It did go around the corner and hopefully to where her team was. Here goes nothing.

She pulled herself through, careful not to bump anything around her, mindful that it was highly unstable.

It was slow-going. Her arms were stinging as rubble dug into them, but she continued to pull herself through what she assumed was the basement hallway. After a few feet, she saw something that made her heart stop.

Kevin.

She hurriedly pulled herself up to him. His head was closest to her, she shined her light on him. His face was bloody, lacerations here and there, but there was a larger cut on the crown of his head just behind his hairline. She could see his torso, but his abdomen was blocked by debris that was laying on him. Putting her fingers to his neck, tears swam in her eyes when she felt a pulse.

“Kev. Hey, Kev, wake up.” She glanced up above her. There looked like there was enough room for her to sit up a bit. Maneuvering carefully, she sat up, hunched to avoid hitting her head. Kev’s hands were free, so she grabbed them, setting them on his chest, and holding on to one, squeezing to try to get him to respond. Nothing. The way his right shoulder moved had her pausing. Feeling along his arm and collar carefully, she winced when she felt his shoulder joint out of place. It was dislocated.

She shone her light around while feeling along his vest for his radio, it wasn’t there, and she couldn’t see past the debris that had him pinned. There was nowhere to go anymore and no way to call for help.

And where was Antonio?

“Antonio!”

She closed her eyes as tears fell. Her breath hitched, and she put a hand to Kevin’s cheek.

“Kim?” her head whipped up so fast she nearly hit it.

“Sergeant Voight!”

*~*~*~*~*

He shook his head sharply, trying to clear it.

What the hell…

Everything was dark. He was laying face down on an uneven surface.

He shifted pushing himself to sit up, but a sharp pull and pain on his side had him stopping and falling back down. He felt his side and flinched when his fingers came across a broken piece of wood sticking out of him right below his vest. With the realization that he had been injured came the pain.

Counting in his mind to get his breathing and the pain under control, he tried to remember what had happened. He had been waiting as his team moved into the basement, calling to check in on the guys outside. He had moved away from the basement entrance while Hailey informed him that she thought she saw someone watching the house. At that moment, a ear-splitting blast had sounded out, and then the floor had disappeared from beneath his feet. He had been falling, loud crashes all around him.

There had been a bomb in the house. Someone had booby-trapped the house to wipe them out. They had planted it downstairs, in the basement, where his unit had been.

He had to find his team. Pushing himself up again, trying not to jostle the wood in his gut, he felt the debris on his back shift as he moved. In the silence, the wood shifting around him was loud, and made him very aware of the fact that he was risking further collapse. With deep breaths and careful shifting, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, a hand over his side.

He really couldn’t see much. There were slivers of light coming from somewhere above him. He didn’t recognize what was around him. To be fair, it was piles of wood and concrete, but it looked like a heavy shelf of some sort had covered him for the most part.

“...come in… “

Someone was calling over the radio.

The voice was coming from behind him. He crawled over and found it buried, thankfully nearby, as Hailey continued speaking.

“If anyone can hear me, help is coming, just hang on.”

“This is Sergeant Voight. Are you alright?”

“Sarge! It’s good to hear your voice. Ruzek and Halstead are here, we’re good. Is everyone okay?”

Knowing that his guys outside were alright lifted a bit of the weight off his chest. But what about the rest of the team?

As he was about to answer, his eyes caught the beam of a flashlight peeking through the rubble nearby. He had to slide off of the raised rubble he was on to reach it, but he was able to pick it up and shine it around.

“Sarge? Do you copy? Back up is here. Platt has units sweeping the area for Holland. CFD is three minutes out.”

“I copy.”

“What’s your status? Who’s with you?”

He glanced down at his wound and probed it carefully. It wasn’t bleeding badly.

“I’m fine. But I haven’t found anyone else.”

There was silence on the line. He needed to take a look around, find his guys.

“Keep me posted. I’m gonna try to find them.”

“Copy that, Sarge. Be careful.”

Clipping his radio to his chest, he tried to better take in his surroundings. It was hard to determine where he was and what was around him with all the dust and darkness.

It was painful, but he crawled along the edges of his space to figure out where he or his unit was. On one end, he could see a broken stairwell. It was blocked, in another room, but it was a landmark.

Hailey checked back in to let him know CFD had arrived as he made his way to another side, when he heard concrete shifting. He paused, fearful that the structure was about to collapse further. When everything was quiet again, he sighed, and that’s when his eyes caught a gun laying ahead of him. There was less space on this side so he crawled low and moved quickly to look at it. It wasn’t his.

There was no where else for him to move, but he shined his flashlight around the rubble anxiously.

There! This meant Hank had fallen through to the basement then:

“Antonio!”

His detective didn’t stir. He had to check on him, but there was too much debris in his way. Large pieces too. No way he’d be able to move everything out of the way safely to get to him. His heart racing, Hank tried to look him over through the gaps with his light.

Antonio’s face was turned away from him, but the side he could see showed that he was covered in blood and dust. His right jacket sleeve was in tatters. His left leg, from his hip on down, was trapped. Pieces of wood and concrete were piled on his midsection.

Carefully, he reached an arm through to Antonio’s right wrist and held it. The wound in his own side pulled painfully, but he held his breath and his position. He exhaled sharply when he felt a steady beat under his fingertips.

“Antonio!”

He almost missed it, thinking it was his mind saying his partner’s name, until it registered whose voice he’d just heard.

“Kim?”

“Sergeant Voight!”

Relief swept through him at her response.

“I’m here,” He looked up when he could see a light flashing in a corner, “How’re you doing?”

“I’m good. I’m here with Kevin. He’s unconscious, has a dislocated shoulder. He’s cut up pretty good. We don’t have a radio.”

“I’ve got one here. Hold on.”

With a pained breath, he pulled his arm back to grab his radio.

“Sarge, have you seen Antonio? He was closest to the blast.”

That explained the extent of his injuries. “I’ve got him here. Let me check in with our rescue.”

“Hailey,” he called into his radio, leaning back and grabbing his injury when pain flared in his side, “someone, come in.”

“Here Sergeant.”

“How’s our rescue coming,” His gaze swept back over Antonio again as he asked.

“CFD is working on a way to get you out safely. Got a lot of hands out here. The rest of 51 heard about the situation and came to assist. Hopefully we’ll have you out soon.”

“That’s great,” if he trusted anyone to get them out of this mess, it was Chief Boden and his crew, “I’ve found Antonio, and got word from Burgess. She’s got Atwater with her.”

“Good, that’s really good to hear,” a pause, “How are you all doing?”

He considered how he should answer. They needed help, now. None of them were doing that great, and medical help could not come soon enough, but everyone up top was already working hard to free them. Adding panic to the equation wouldn’t do anyone any good. “Not doing too hot. We could use some medical attention, so tell CFD to move their asses, alright?”

“You got it. I’ve got Chiefs Boden and Walker here for you, Sarge.”

“Sergeant Voight, Chief Walker here. Our men are working on freeing you right now. Our paramedics are standing by. Could you give us a rundown of what we’re looking at?”

“Kim,” he called in her direction, “give me details on Atwater to pass on to CFD.”

“Still unconscious. He’s got a gash-” her voice cut off, “Wait, wait he’s waking up.” Hank held his breath to hear, “Kevin, Kev, open your eyes. Can you hear me?” He assumed there was a response because what he heard next was, “Thank God.”

“Sergeant?” Right, Walker.

“Kevin just woke up,” he relayed to the chief.

“Boss,” Kim called for his attention again, “He’s awake. He’s lucid. Hurting. But he has a pretty bad gash on his head, dislocated shoulder.”

Hank listed the injuries off one by one to Walker as Kim reported them, “... Officer Burgess says that she’s got no visual further than his stomach. I’ve got no visual on them either.”

“Sergeant. Is Officer Burgess able to feel a pulse on the dislocated arm?”

Hank repeated the question to Kim, who answered with an affirmative.

“Good. He’ll be fine for now then. What else?”

Looking back to Antonio, he continued, “I’ve got Detective Dawson here with me. I can’t get a good look, lots of debris between him and me. He’s unconscious, I was able to get a faint pulse, he looks like he’s got some burns and cuts along his right side. He looks pinned in. Got a good amount of house piled on him.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Walker said, Voight’s silence indicating he was done, “Any way you could tell us where you are?”

“Basement. That’s where the blast came from, and that’s where my guys were when it happened. I can’t tell you exactly where we are, but I saw a set of stairs in another room. It’s about twenty feet away from me. There was a window, so it has to lead outside. Kim and Kevin must be closer to the stairs leading up to the rest of the house.” Or what was the rest of the house.

“Alright. We’ll have you and your unit out of there in no time. Hang in there.”

“Thanks Chief.”

“Sergeant,” That was Chief Boden’s voice, “We’ll keep you updated. Please keep us apprised of Antonio and Kevin’s conditions as well.”

“Will do, Chief.”

*~*~*~*~*

“I’ll brief the teams, get us moving on that basement entrance,” Walker told them, moving to the house where their men were planning their rescue.

“We’ll prep the necessary supplies for them so we can go in and help as soon as they’re found.” Cesar told them, looking back at Brett, who agreed.

Chief Boden gave a short nod before joining Chief Walker, the firefighters and Adam at the edge of the collapsed house. The unit was lucky they weren’t crushed outright when the house came down. Hailey watched them for a second as they surveyed the area before she, Brett and Cesar made their way back to the ambulances. 

“How are they?” Jay asked immediately as they approached.

“They’re hanging in there.” Jay gave a tight nod and released a sharp breath at the news.

Hailey looked over her partner critically, “Are you okay?”

He had refused to go to the hospital while their team was still in danger. He claimed he only had a headache from the blast. He had been standing close to a basement window when the explosion had occurred. Chout, who was now bouncing on his toes talking to Emily, had checked him over and said he was to stay at the ambulance if he insisted on remaining at the scene.

He shook his head but looked her straight in the eyes, “I told you, I’m fine.”

Hailey nodded as Sergeant Platt walked up to them.

“Still no sign of Holland. Units are still sweeping the area,” Platt told them, “How are they?”

“Alive, hanging in there,” Hailey told her.

Relief swept across Platt’s face at the news, and they all went silent as they watched the firefighters work to save their team.

[prairiesongserial]

5.6

The truck bounced and ambled its way down the dust-covered road, tossing its passengers gently from side to side like they were in a ship on a particularly stormy ocean. Cody’s stomach turned over, and he tore his gaze away from the window to look at John and Sailor, who shared the backseat with him.

“Are we sure about this?”

“No,” Sailor growled under her breath. She was hunched over in her seat, gently rubbing her leg where her knee joint met her new prosthetic. “It’s a bad plan. Not enough people, and not enough guns.”

“I thought that was kinda the point,” Nash said cheerfully, from the driver’s seat. “Y’all aren’t supposed to be attracting attention.”

“Nash, respectfully, you aren’t a part of this discussion unless you’re gonna be gettin’ out of the car to go with us,” Cody said, his voice flat.

He knew exactly what Nash’s orders were, unfortunately, and Nash wasn’t coming with him, John, and Sailor. According to what Marc had said that morning at brunch, Nash was coming along strictly as their getaway driver. If they didn’t come back to the rendezvous point within about an hour, Nash was allowed to head back to Texas Waters and leave the three of them high and dry. Cody, for one, had no doubt that he really would. Nash may have been affable enough, but at the end of the day, Marc was the one paying him for his services.

“Fair enough,” Nash said, with an easy shrug. “Your drop point’s comin’ up in a couple minutes, by the way.”

“Great,” Cody said through his teeth. John put a hand on his knee, gently, and he reached down to squeeze it. Having his own gesture returned muddled his thoughts about the whole interaction - he still wasn’t sure what he had been trying to communicate, back at breakfast. At least he could say for certain that John hadn’t minded. Cody refocused himself on the problem at hand, more agitated now than before. “I still don’t see why we have to split up.”

Their instructions were relatively straightforward, all things considered. Marc would be meeting with the heads of a local mob, in a town just across the Mexican border, under the pretense of making an alliance with them. Something about dividing up certain resources they each had access to for a mutual benefit. While the meeting was going on, John, Cody, and Sailor would be pulling off one of the double-crosses Marc was apparently notorious for - considering breakfast, that hadn’t been much of a surprise.

John, Cody, and Sailor were to steal the mob’s supply of water. The only catch was that the supply was kept in a compound located dead in the middle of a nest of muties. The mob didn’t have to spend the manpower guarding their most valuable resource if the muties kept people away for free, after all. All they had to do was guard one tunnel entrance. The mob members transported the water in barrels through a tunnel under the mesa, then raised it up on a lift. The barrels sat out in the open, the hundred-odd feral muties enough of a deterrent for any sane person.

The water heist, as Marc had devised it, was a two-pronged plan. Cody and Sailor would make their way up one side of the mesa, doing their best to go as quickly as possible while also disturbing as few muties as possible. At the same time, John would arrive at the guard station at the base of the mesa, dressed as one of the mob’s security men. While Cody and Sailor reached the compound from the top, John would take care of the guards patrolling the underground tunnel. If all went well, they’d meet as soon as Cody and Sailor took the lift down, then transport the barrels of water out through the tunnel to where Nash would be waiting in the truck.

It was a decent plan, in theory. But there were a lot of ways it could go wrong, and Cody hadn’t stopped thinking up more since they’d left Texas Waters. He was so nervous that he could practically feel the food he’d eaten at brunch rolling around in his stomach, threatening to come back up.

“You really want to fight your way back through a nest of pissed-off muties? I mean, be my guest, but…” Nash trailed off, perhaps remembering that Cody had just told him not to talk anymore. He punctuated it with another shrug.

“He’s right,” John murmured, almost as if it pained him to do so.

Cody frowned. “The last time we split up -”

“Was different,” John said, squeezing his hand back. “Not on purpose.”

“Still!”

“Cody,” John said firmly, then looked surprised when Cody’s attention snapped completely to him. He swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing conspicuously in his throat, looking a little like a deer caught in headlights.

“Well?” Cody asked.

“...I’ll handle it,” John said at last, a little gruff, diverting his gaze towards the floor. Cody’s frown deepened.

“I know, but -”

“John has the easy job,” Sailor broke in, looking more than a little exasperated with the route the conversation had gone down. “All he has to do is clear the getaway path for us, and stay there to make sure no other goons show up.”

“I dunno about easy. Once he starts takin’ them down, someone’s gonna notice,” Cody said.

“Not if he’s careful,” Sailor said. “He’ll have enough time to be, with us sneakin’ our way up the whole fuckin’ mesa. I didn’t exactly think he was gonna run in guns blazing, and just start shooting people left and right.”

John snorted.

“Hey, he might have to, if his cover gets blown,” Nash pointed out.

“That’s fine,” John said, and then fell silent again, looking contemplative.

Cody watched him, thinking that, strangely, this was the most he’d heard John speak since before they’d arrived at Texas Waters that morning. He wondered how John was feeling, but he wasn’t about to ask a thing like that in front of Sailor and Nash. They’d have time to talk about it later, hopefully.

“Alright, here we are,” Nash said, pulling the truck off to the shoulder of the road. There wasn’t much there - the mesa loomed over them a couple of yards away, but for the most part, it was just scenic desert. Nothing to suggest a nest of muties nearby. “Hop on out, you two, and don’t forget your guns.”

Cody gave John’s hand a final squeeze before letting go of it, and opening the door to let himself and Sailor out of the truck. He hopped down to the ground, adjusting his poncho, and circling to the back of the truck for the rifles Marc had given to them, just in case. Cody had never fired a fancy rifle like the ones Marc’s guards used before, but he’d fired a shotgun, and he reckoned they worked about the same. He had his pistol holstered to his hip again, too, as a last resort.

“Be safe,” he told John through the window, slinging the rifle’s strap over his shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

John nodded. Nash revved the truck’s engine once, then peeled away onto the road, with apparently little regard for the dust the tires kicked up onto Cody and Sailor. Cody watched the truck disappear into the distance, until he couldn’t see John’s face looking for him from the window anymore.

“Ready to kill some muties?” he asked, turning to Sailor.

“I’m hoping we won’t have to,” she grumbled. She started to head for the mesa, her eyes scanning the horizon line for something. “There should be a footpath close to here that goes up to the top. It was on Marc’s map.”

“Right,” Cody said, following just a couple steps behind. He’d thought the map of the area that Marc had brought out while explaining the plan had been largely for dramatic purposes, but now he felt a little silly for not taking the time to study it seriously.

“What’s with you and Marc, anyway?” he asked. It couldn’t hurt to make conversation until they actually reached mutie territory, and he was curious, anyway. “I thought you were trying to catch him for the bounty. He acted like you come around for brunch all the time.”

“It’s complicated,” Sailor said, bluntly.

“Is it?”

“No,” she answered, after a moment of contemplation. They’d reached the beginning of the footpath, and she started up it, only pausing for a moment to make sure Cody was following her closely. “Not really. He thinks I’m hunting him because I like him.”

“And he likes you, obviously,” Cody said, filling in the gaps.

“Obviously,” Sailor said. “What was your first clue?”

Cody laughed - and then froze, the sound dying in his throat as he abruptly became aware of something moving in his peripheral vision. Sailor snapped her head up to look, and he did the same, already knowing what he’d find. His stomach twisted. There was a group of muties, at least five of them crouched on a ledge not five yards away. Their eyes were milky white with cataracts, and they were hunched over, with necks and arms that looked too long for their bodies. Some of them were chittering softly, Cody thought, unless it was the sounds of nearby animals. But he doubted that, somehow.

“They can’t see,” he murmured, barely moving his lips. If the muties were blind, maybe sneaking past them would be easier than Marc had thought.

Sailor frowned. She stooped to pick up a rock from the ground, slowly and deliberately. Cody wondered what she was doing for only a moment before she wound up and threw it, sending it sailing over the group of muties’ heads and clattering across the ground on the ledge they were on.

The muties reacted in less than a second. So abruptly it was startling, they sprang into motion, turning to lunge on the spot where the rock had landed. They were making low, guttural noises in their throats that sounded like a human imitation of a dog’s growl. Cody thought it might have been the worst noise he’d ever heard in his life.

“They can sure hear, though,” Sailor said, under her breath.

Cody bit the inside of his cheek, and nodded. Somehow, he got the feeling that this was going to be much worse than the last time he and John had split up.

5.5 || 5.7

[adorkablephil]

Fic: Listen (Chapter 5)

Title: Listen Rating: PG Word Count: 2.5K (this chapter) Summary: Phil is a successful YouTuber, and Dan is a fan desperate for attention. Sounds like 2009, right? Except Phil is Deaf. Tags: AU, Deaf!Phil, Mute!Dan, Both YouTubers, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Conversion Disorder Fic also available on AO3 here

[Masterlist of all “Listen” chapters on Tumblr]

Chapter 5: First

Dan evaporated like mist, as if he’d never existed. One moment, Phil felt a constant frisson of awareness of that delicious warmth along his side, only inches away, and then suddenly … nothing.

Well, not nothing: a couple of very enthusiastic teenage girls, obviously subscribers, mouths moving excitedly, probably not really thinking about the fact that he couldn’t hear a word they were saying, though his lip reading had improved a lot since he'd first left the Deaf school. But then the girls were miming requests to take selfies with him, and Phil happily obliged, as always. But his mind was elsewhere. Where had Dan gone? Phil hugged the girls goodbye, trying to smile warmly as he waved at them, attempting to shoo them off without being rude. They clutched their phones, giggling, as he turned away to look frantically up and down the street.

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

Dan: i’m in the apple store. come get me when theyre gone

The girls were still watching him with obvious fascination, so Phil strolled away from them and ducked into a nearby bookstore.

Phil: I’m in the WHSmith. I’ll wait until I’m sure they’re gone. Don’t you ever get fans stopping you in the street?

Dan: no

Phil: How is that possible? You have more subscribers than I do!

Dan: i don’t go out much & i keep my head down. maybe i dont have many subscribers in wokingham

Phil: I know you don’t go to the conventions, but surely you’ve met some of your fans sometime?

Dan: no

Dan: i mean then theyd know i can’t talk

Phil stood staring at his phone, not knowing what to say in response to that. He went to the front of the store and cautiously peered out. No sign of the excited girls. The Apple Store was about a block away, so he started walking in that direction.

Dan had never met a subscriber? At least all Phil’s viewers knew he was Deaf, and so he could be himself if he met them on the street and they wouldn’t be surprised. He had nothing to hide. But Dan let everyone believe that the “silent movie” theme was just his signature video style. He interacted with his audience enthusiastically on social media, but … he never interacted with anyone in person. He’d never even done any collabs with other YouTubers, as far as Phil knew.

Phil suddenly wondered if he was the only one Dan had told. He’d never thought about it, but now that he did, it seemed obvious.

He’d seen Dan interact frequently not only with fans but also with various other YouTubers on social media over the past couple years, and he seemed very friendly with many of them, especially the ones he knew Phil was personal friends with. Dan was always joking and supportive and self-deprecatingly funny with them all. But … Phil was probably the only one he’d trusted with the truth.

In the crowded Apple Store, Phil spotted Dan huddled in a corner with his hoodie pulled up to cover his hair and much of his face. He was staring down at his phone, his shoulders hunched as if braced for a blow. Phil stopped a couple feet away, not wanting to startle him.

Phil: I’m right behind you.

Dan turned immediately, and the pinched look on his face hurt Phil’s heart. His brown eyes were wide and frightened, his mouth tight and drawn. He looked back down at his phone, typing.

Dan: they didn’t see me did they?

Phil shook his head, smiling sadly, and then couldn’t help but take Dan in his arms for the first time. He was so much larger than the girls Phil had hugged only moments ago, but so much dearer and more precious, because this was Dan. His Dan. And he was hiding in an Apple Store because he was afraid.

Dan’s body went completely rigid for a moment, but then he suddenly relaxed into Phil’s hold as if deflating. His head sank down so that his forehead rested on Phil’s shoulder and he wrapped his long arms around Phil’s waist, squeezing as if clinging to a life raft in stormy seas. Phil raised a hand to brush aside the hoodie so he could stroke Dan’s hair slowly, over and over again. And maybe they were making a bit of a spectacle of themselves in the corner of the Apple Store, but Phil didn’t care.

But Dan might.

So Phil pulled away gently and waited for Dan’s head to come up. Phil gestured questioningly toward the door, and Dan nodded. Phil mimed putting his hood up, and Dan did, glancing around nervously. They left the store and walked to the bus stop more quickly than they’d been walking when they first left the Starbucks.

They didn’t talk at the stop, or even on the bus. They just stared at their individual phones, not even texting each other. Dan just followed Phil like a shadow.

When they arrived at the flat, Dan hovered near the front door, clearly nervous, as Phil removed his coat and hung it on the peg in the entryway. Dan’s eyes flitted here and there, trying to take in the whole room at once. He’d seemed skittish ever since the fans in the high street.

“Want a tour?” Phil signed, using his facial expression and inviting gesture to make his meaning clear. Dan nodded, pulling his hoodie sleeves down to mostly cover his hands in a move Phil had seen on Skype a hundred times, but which he found utterly adorable nonetheless.

Phil led him to the lounge and signed, “The lounge,” before identifying the signs for “table,” “sofa,” and “Playstation.” Well, okay, he fingerspelled “Playstation,” mostly just to see Dan smile. Phil pulled out his phone again.

Phil: How did you learn fingerspelling?

Dan pressed his palms together and then pulled them apart as if opening a book, which seemed clear enough. Phil nodded in understanding: Dan had actually gone looking for a book to learn the BSL alphabet. Phil’s heart swelled.

Dan held up a hand, and Phil stopped, watching him. Then Dan repeated the signs for “lounge,” “table,” and “sofa,” before laboriously fingerspelling “Playstation.”

“That’s great!” Phil signed with a broad smile. “Good memory!” He knew Dan would be able to figure out some of the signs just from context and from what they looked like, since BSL was fairly visually intuitive. So he led him through the flat, pointing things out and slowly signing their names, watching fondly when Dan copied him.

When he’d finished the tour, they wound up standing in the kitchen, just glancing around, avoiding each other’s eyes, not sure what to do next.

In the back of his mind, he kept remembering Dan’s intent eyes back at the Starbucks, Dan signing, “I want to kiss you.” Dan signing, “I love you.” But the Dan here with him in his flat in the present moment seemed comparatively distant and uncomfortable, shoulders hunched as tight as they’d been in the Apple Store, hands shoved nervously in his jeans pockets. He looked young and uncertain and self-conscious.

Resorting to the manners his mum had taught him, Phil picked up the kettle and signed, “Tea?” Then he held up the can of instant coffee and signed, “Or coffee?”

Dan’s shoulders lowered an inch or so and he nodded, clearly relieved. “Coffee,” he signed. Phil wondered if the caffeine might just make them both more jittery and nervous, but at least it would give them something to do. And the only other thing he could think about doing was basically leaping on Dan and claiming some of those promised kisses … and Dan didn’t look remotely ready for that right now.

They ended up playing several games of Mario Kart and Crash Bandicoot, letting their coffees go cold on the side table as they sat side-by-side on Phil’s sofa. Dan was a Mario Kart master, utterly destroying Phil every race and pretending no false modesty as he performed a shameless victory dance after every win. Phil pretended to pout about it, but really he was just happy to see Dan laughing and bouncing up and down. He was also pleased that Dan seemed to finally be making himself at home, running through the game menus himself instead of deferring to Phil like some kind of polite guest.

They slouched down on the sofa when they’d decided they’d had enough gaming, both relaxed and smiling. Neither of them said anything for a long moment, and Phil just savored the presence of Dan in his flat. Finally. After all this time! Dan was actually here!

He turned his head to look at this boy, this young man he’d been longing for, dreaming of, for so long. Years of long-distance courting through DMs and texts and Skype calls. And somehow, for some reason, Dan had finally decided to fully trust him, had bought a ticket and gotten on a train and ridden for hours, had braved the wild subscribers of Manchester’s high street … all for Phil. He could feel his heart beating, feel his own pulse in his fingertips and in his throat and on his tongue and … Dan turned to meet his gaze. Phil held his breath. Then Dan’s eyes dropped to Phil’s lips, then back up to meet Phil’s eyes. Phil licked his lips, not trying to be seductive but just not wanting to have dry lips for their first kiss … because that’s what was about to happen, right? He could see the reciprocated longing on Dan’s face, the slight parting of his lips, the intensity in his gaze.

And then Dan looked away, running a hand through his fringe, trying to straighten it, then fluff it, all movements Phil had seen him make on Skype, but in this case Dan had no image of himself to look at, so it was obviously just nervous habit.

Phil wondered if Dan wanted him to take the lead. Maybe Dan was too nervous to initiate a kiss? But that didn’t feel right. It felt like if this was going to happen—and Phil was pretty darn certain it would happen eventually, even if it wasn’t today, even if it wasn’t this weekend at all—it needed to happen on Dan’s schedule. When Dan was ready.

When their lips first met, Dan would be the one to close that last tiny distance between them.

Dan stood up and prowled restlessly around the lounge, inspecting the movies, games, books, and knick-knacks on the various shelves, occasionally casting a nervous glance at Phil on the sofa. Eventually, he held up a DVD case for the horror film Cube and raised an eyebrow, eyes darting toward the tv then back at Phil. Phil shrugged and nodded, gesturing toward the DVD player in invitation. Dan put the disc in and hovered in front of the tv, using the remote to start the film. The subtitles started automatically with Phil’s default settings. Dan went to turn off the overhead lamp, which surprised Phil, since they’d talked about Dan’s fear of the dark. They’d also talked about his ironic preference for full immersion when he watched horror films, though, so maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising.

It definitely made the room feel more intimate, though.

And when Dan returned to the sofa, he sat a little closer to Phil this time.

In fact, their arms were touching slightly. Phil found himself painfully aware of the gooseflesh rising everywhere Dan’s skin innocently brushed his. He stared fixedly at the television screen, though he paid no attention to what he was actually watching. He’d seen the film before, of course, but right now his brain was a blank, all his senses attuned to the warm body so close beside him, so near after they’d been so far apart for so long. His hands begged to reach for Dan, but Phil twined his fingers together in his lap to control himself.

When he felt Dan’s eyes on him again, he turned his head. The flickering light from the telly made it difficult to read Dan’s expression, but the body language couldn’t have been clearer as Dan leaned slightly closer, then hesitated again. Wanting to help alleviate some of the built-up tension and awkwardness, Phil smiled softly and signed again, for the first time since the Starbucks, “I love you, Dan.” He wasn’t sure how well Dan would be able to see his hands in the dim lighting, but the change in Dan’s facial expression said it had been enough.

A moment later, Phil’s eyes closed as a soft mouth touched his, the barest brush at first, just a hint of contact, uncertain, questioning. Phil kept his lips pliant, parting them very slightly beneath Dan’s to show his interest without pressing for anything more. A warm hand reached up to cradle the side of his face, and Phil could feel a slight tremble in Dan’s fingers as he scooted closer to Phil on the sofa and leaned more fully into the kiss. Phil tilted his head slightly to improve the angle, and this aligned their mouths perfectly, Dan’s hand sliding up into Phil’s hair and a timid tongue darting quickly across the sensitive skin of his bottom lip.

Then Dan slid away again, and the brief kiss was over. Dan’s eyes watched him nervously from the distance he’d put between them until he eventually signed anxiously, “Was that okay?”

Phil closed his eyes again for a moment, just savoring the memory of that gentle intimacy, and then opened his eyes to gaze fondly at Dan as he signed, “The best.” In case Dan didn’t understand the sign, Phil raised a hand to press two fingers softly to his own lips and smiled, letting his eyes close again.

When he opened them, Dan was smiling too, glancing down shyly and then back up at Phil through his lashes. He licked his lips, probably unconsciously, and copied Phil’s sign. “The best,” Dan signed, and Phil knew a bewitching blush probably suffused that beautiful face undetected in the darkened lounge.

The film continued to play, ignored, a few feet away, but Phil just admired how its light emphasized the shadow of dimple in Dan’s cheek as they gazed at each other with a sort of blissful, tender joy he’d never experienced before in his entire life.

“I love you,” Dan signed quickly, and then he scooted close to cuddle against Phil’s side, nestling his head onto Phil’s shoulder so that his hair tickled Phil’s cheek, and they pretended to turn their attention back to watching the film, actually just breathing together and feeling closer than any two people had ever been.

Author’s Note: Feed your local fanfic author! Likes, comments, reblogs, reblogs with lovely tags ... go ahead, make my day!

[Continue to Chapter 6]

[its-harrypooter]

Ur hufflepuff x slytherin stuff are so cute!!!! Could you do a scenario when slytherin asks puff to the prom/Yule ball? TYSM!

ok so I asked what genders they should have and we have Slytherin (male) and puff (female). off we go!

slytherin really wanted to go to the yule ball with puff this year

theyd talked in most of their classes, mainly charms and care of magical creatures (his favourite class, although he'd never admit it)

(puff could always tell it was his favourite but moving on)

and puff was just intending to go with friends

because she wasn't dating anyone and the only guys that talked to her were either just friends, already in a relationship or not interested in girls

and she was fine with that

but slytherin wasn't

he was confused as to why the rest of the school wasn't hanging on to her every word

and smiling whenever she walked into the room

because he was

and surely everyone else would be too

but she had this hold over him

and he couldnt quite explain it

she smiled and laughed and was just overall beautiful

but not just on the outside

she listened to the ravenclaw that didn't think she was good enough

and the Gryffindor that was afraid of public speaking

she brought up small snacks for the students that spent the whole of dinner in the common room studying

she leant books to those who she thought would enjoy them

and helped that slytherin look for his shoes when one of the Gryffindors had stolen them

she was just amazing

and he felt like she could see right through him

she knew him so well

always let him do most of the parenting in care of magical creatures just so he could hold the fluffy little mooncalves

and she noticed how when he was serious, his dark eyes grew extremely intense

and how when he was mad his eyes would narrow so much she feared for whoever had made him that angry

so he wanted to go with her

no one else

all of a sudden an apple was levitating towards the Hufflepuff table in the great hall that morning and dropped in front of her

and he was excited because he finally had the balls to ask her out and she wasn't already going with anyone so shed have no reason to say no

the word ball? was spelt out in ink across the surface of the apple

and the way she was sitting allowed him to see her reaction

actually, everyone was able to see the reaction because everyone was looking at her

she picked up the able, confused 

she handed it to her friend that was sitting opposite her

the friend looked along the Hufflepuff table toward a boy who was smiling as he watched the scenario

the friend jumped up, screamed yes and ran into him for a hug

oh no

that was not supposed to happen

puff looks back down at the apple and puts it on a dirty plate, ready for clean up

her and her friends start heading back to their dormitories to get ready for classes

slytherin jumps up and dashes out of the hall, he forgot a charm he was supposed to have memorised before morning classes

he rounds the corner really fast and almost trips over someone tying their shoe

“oh fuck im so sor- hey” he stops short as the shorter girl stands up, smiling

“haha its ok” she crosses her arms and hunches over a little, awkwardly waiting for the conversation to end

“so your friend’s going to the ball with that David guy, huh?” he’s trying to sound casual

“yeah, but I don't think she should have” she says, growing a little more comfortable

of course puff knew slytherin, they shared a few classes together

she remembered that time in care of magical creatures, when they took care of a demiguise together (it favoured slytherin much more, and she was only partly jealous)

“why? you don't think Dave’s a nice guy?” he furrowed his brows and actually looked very cute

“no no its not that, Dave’s great,” she shuffled awkwardly, “its just that, writing ball? on an apple isn't really the best way to ask someone to the ball. it kinda seemed like every one of his friends had a date and he went oh fuck better write prom on an apple cause its so romantic and give it to the first girl I see”

slytherin looked at her, partially embarrassed, “well what would you have wanted”

puff didn't even seem to notice the flirting manner he said it and instead looked up, “I don't know, just not that.”

a sly smile spread across slytherin’s face, “should I make a charm that releases fireworks to spell out your name next time?”

but the only part of that puff really heard was the part he said about a fireworks charm,  and she said with a hint of a smile, “don't be ridiculous, you're terrible at charms.”

his face went slack

how could she not notice

that im

flirting 

with

her

she tried to suppress a laugh at her own little joke and didn't succeed

god her laugh was cute

she quickly looked at the clock at the end of the great hall

“oh I better get back to the dorm, classes will be starting soon.”

and she was gone

slytehrin stared after her

confused about how she didn't notice any of his subtle flirting

the next morning

slytherin watched eagerly as the huffepuffs streamed into the hall

but puff wasn't among them

no no no no no no

she has to be here

maybe he missed her

about 30 seconds later the doors flew open and a few of the other Slytherins flew in on broomsticks, throwing fireworks up with their wands

the same spell he had made them repeat back to him fifty times before they could sleep

sparks of light bounced around the great hall

then puff walked in

her nose red

her eyes puffy

she was sick, but she wanted some breakfast before she went to madam pomfrey

all of a sudden her headache got worse

it felt like bombs were going off inside her head

but she wasn't the only one who felt that

and she looked around the room, half expecting everyone to be staring at the late newcomer

but everyones eyes were pointed upwards

so she looked

and she saw the most beautiful display of fireworks

yellows and oranges filled the hall

but most of all

a beautiful indigo lit up the room countless times

her favourite colour

it looked so beautiful

then her name was streaked among the clouds

and then a simple word

ball?

she was in awe

she looked around frantically

and there he was

in his green robes

standing on his seat at the opposite end of the hall

a few people sent her small smiles and the rest went back to eating, the show over

but she got out her wand

and with a quick flourish

streaks of entwining yellows and greens flashed in the great hall’s sky

yes